Authors: D. T. Jones
“I sure will, but I still think it would be best ta high tail it out the back.” The woman turned and left, slipping the money into her pocket before reaching the front where she relayed Creighton’s instructions. It took another few minutes before the
men left, but not until after the deputy arrived and helped usher them back out to the sidewalk.
“That was very gallant of you, Mr. Ashford,” Sandra said with an admiring smile. “Not only did you take matters in your own hands and calm everything down, but you didn’t run and hide.”
“I don’t hide from reporters, Sandra,” he said with a soft smile. “Once you start ignoring them or trying to avoid their questions, it’s like throwing petrol on a fire; they come at you tenfold and you can never have a moment’s peace. I’d rather confront the situation head on and have done with it.”
“You are an amazing man, do you know that?” She smiled brightly to him watching the emotion flash through his dark eyes. “It’s only one of the things I love about you.”
“One?” he asked suddenly.
“Yes.”
“What are the others?”
“Well, you are kind and loving and gentle; you know when to back off and yet you know when to stand tall and step up to the plate. You are the most incredible person I’ve ever known. You have the respect of everyone you deal with and the admiration of those who know you. Besides, you’re drop dead gorgeous with a killer body and even though I may hate women staring at you, I know how easily you make a girl’s heart skip.” Creighton stared at her for a few seconds, a half grin curving his lips upward.
“Be careful darling,” he whispered. “It sounds like you may be in love.”
“That I am, hopelessly, helplessly, passionately, eternally in love.” His smile widened as he reached across the table and lifted her hand, kissing her knuckles gently.
“I hope that never changes,” he whispered.
“Why would it? I’ve made a commitment to you and I’m not going to hide either. I’m going to stand beside you and cheer you on as you punch that jackass mayor in the pompous nose.”
“So, should I take him out back and give him what for?” he asked with a light hearted chuckle.
“Only if I can video tape it. I’d love to post it on every website from here to Oklahoma.” Creighton laughed as he pulled her up to her feet, wrapping his arm around her waist as they walked to the cashier, where he paid for their breakfast.
The walk back to the motel was slow and leisurely and Sandra smiled as she leaned her head against his shoulder, her arm around his waist, his around hers. It was strange how something as simple as a stroll could make her feel warm and happy.
“Will you be alright with those reports sniffing around?” he asked as he pulled the car up to the front of the library ten minutes later.
“I’ll be fine, besides I know them. They are former school mates so if they try anything I’ll put them in their place. Just finish with my grandfather and get back here. I don’t like being this far away from you.”
“I think we’ve only been apart twice since we’ve known each other,” he said in a soft reminiscent tone.
“And I didn’t care much for it either time.”
“Don’t forget your snack bag,” he told her, reaching across the seat and handing her the satchel.
“Yes daddy,” she teased with a wide smile before leaning across the gearshift to kiss him goodbye. “Don’t be long,” she whispered against his mouth. “I am eager to get back to
the privacy of our motel.”
“You can still come with me. Nana said we could have the upstairs to ourselves.”
“Somehow making love in my grandparents’ house doesn’t do it for me. Just don’t be long, or I’ll have to take care of things myself and I don’t like doing that…unless you’re watching.”
“I love you,” he told her with a wicked grin, pressing his lips against hers in a hard passionate act that left her suddenly breathless and wanting more.
“I’m counting the minutes,” she told him.
“Just don’t start without me,” he teased, watching her lean back to her own seat and open the door. She smiled through the window to him and waved then turned and walked in through the glass doors, back into the world she had left behind.
Creighton pulled away from the curb, his heart felt much lighter than it had last night. It was amazing how the light of day seemed to make everything right again and gave him hope for a future he was dreading just a few hours before.
“I cannot believe you’re married,” Barbara Baker said a short while later as Sandra sat in her old office surrounded by her former co-workers and friends.
“Not just married, but happily married,” Sandra said with a wide smile as the other woman inspected her wedding rings.
“What’s it like?” Kelsey Dale asked, leaning her elbows against the desk and staring at her former boss with dreamy eyes. “Is he really was wonderful as everyone says he is?”
“Yes, Creighton is an amazing man; very handsome, very kind and an incredible lover.” Sandra wiggled her eyebrows as she said the last of her sentence, making the other girls laugh out loud and Ray Humphrey groan.
“I knew he had eyes for you,” Ray said, twisting his large backside in her old chair, as though trying to adjust to the seat and the position he now held. “Every time he’s been here, he can’t seem to stop looking at you. I thought he was going haul off and clobber that sister of yours when she kept butting in between you. I think if he had his way about it, he would have asked you to marry him the first time he laid eyes on you.”
“He certainly watched you close enough to memorize every line of your face,” Kelsey said.
“Not to mention the other lines,” Barbara said, motioning her figure with her hands, causing them all to laugh at Sandra’s blush.
“I just wish I would have noticed him sooner,” she told them, playing with her ring and smiling. “Who knows where we would be now, if I had.”
“You’d be right where you are,” Barbara added. “Married to the richest, most gorgeous man in the world and living on cloud nine.”
Sandra smiled as she listened to the dribble nonsense of her friends telling her about what had been happening in Hoisington since she left, but she really didn’t pay much attention. She couldn’t help but wonder why Creighton was taking so long and how her grandfather was dealing with the sale of his land. Her husband had told her that he was offering much more than Mayor Nelson had suggested he buy the land for; though she refused to allow him to tell her the amount. She just didn’t feel right being a part of the negotiations; she had never asked her grandfather about his finances and she didn’t want to know about them now.
Every time the bell hanging over the door, she would look up expecting to see Creighton, but it was never him. She was beginning to get worried and wondered if the local reporters had weaseled their way into the mix somehow.
“I have to go read now,” Barbara said, smiling as the third grade teacher, Miss Wicker arrived with her class.
“Please, let me?” Sandra asked enthusiastically. “I won’t get another chance, at least not for a while.”
“Be my guest,” Barbara answered watching as the kids saw their former story teller. They all cheered and rushed to her, hugging her and talking at once, forgetting the library rules of no talking. Sandra smiled happily to them as she led them to the carpet in the corner and took up her seat. She accepted the book one of the children handed her, a book they had been reading in class. Sandra smiled and turned to page ninety of Huckleberry Finn and began reading.
Creighton arrived a short time later, followed by James and Mary. He immediately recognized his wife’s lilting tone and smiled as he watched her reading to the children. She looked relaxed and comfortable, her storytelling voice rising and falling to represent the different characters of the book.
“It’s good to see you again, Mr. Ashford,” Barbara said, reaching her hand out to shake his. She was a very pretty blonde with bright blue eyes and an oval face, about Sandra’s size and height, though not as well-endowed.
“Please call me Creighton, or Crey,” he said with a smile, shaking the woman’s hand.
“And I’m Kelsey,” the younger brunette said with a soft blush as she stepped in to shake the very handsome man’s hand.
“Ignore her,” Ray said with a fatherly grin, though he was not much older than Creighton. “She’s got a problem when it comes to boys.”
“What’s that?” Creighton frowned watching the younger woman turn and evil glare on her new boss.
“She can’t seem to avoid them. I’m Ray Humphrey, we met before.”
“Yes, I remember. Congratulations on the promotion. Sandra said you deserved it.”
“I’ll never be as good as Sandy, but if it wasn’t for her recommendation, I probably would never have come out of the stock room.”
“According to my wife, you’re the best fit for the position.”
“Well I thank you, and her. I just hope I can live up to her reputation. She has always been well liked by the local kids.”
“Yes, I can see that,” Creighton said, watching the children as they crowded around her when she finished reading, each one hugging her in turn. Sandra walked with them to the counter and smiled when she saw Creighton. She reached for the bowl of
candy Barbara handed her, and blushed when she saw her husband’s smile, remembering the reason behind his plane’s name as well as that of the project that brought them here.
She allowed each child to take one candy out of the jar, then waved good-bye as they all filed out onto the sidewalk and began walking cheerfully back to the school three blocks away. She looked up as James asked Ray to notarize some papers for him and smiled at her husband
“That was fun, but I have to admit, I don’t miss it much,” Sandra said with a heavy sigh. “I forgot how exhausting it is reading to all those kids.”
“Admit it, you enjoyed it and you miss it,” Barbara said with a wide smile.
“I did enjoy it, but I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would.”
“Really?” Creighton asked in a soft voice as the small group quickly disbursed; Kelsey gathering together the blankets and bean bag chairs the children had been sitting on and Barbara going to help a young woman find a book. Ray began talking with James and Mary which allowed the young couple some time to talk in private.
“Really,” she assured him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I used to love reading to the kids, it was my favorite part of the job, but that was before I found something much better to take its place.” Creighton smiled and hugged her to him as James patted his shoulder.
He turned, signed his name and showed his ID to Ray and asked if he could fax the forms to a number in England. They waited while the papers slid through the small machine, listening to the squeal that echoed from the speaker. Creighton pulled out his phone and sent a text, Sandra assumed was to his solicitor. Several minutes passed by before Ray handed him back the papers and the confirmation and Creighton tucked his phone back in his pocket.
“We need to go see Nelson,” James said with a frown. “I have a few choice words for that man.”
“Why, what happened?” Sandra asked, seeing the irritated look cross her husband’s face.
“He has already held his own press conference this morning, that’s why those reporters were at the restaurant,” Creighton explained. “He’s using all of this as a platform for his re-election campaign.”
“Doesn’t surprise me,” she said with a frown, as James’s phone rang and he began talking to someone on the other line, very briefly.
“Cathy said to hurry up,” the older man said, slipping the phone back in his pocket. “She said there has been a reporter following Nelson around all day.”
“Good,” Creighton growled softly. “This may be the first time I will be happy to see one.”
“I’m coming too,” Sandra said quickly, gathering her satchel from behind the counter and hurrying to where Creighton waited for her by the door, slipping her hand in his.
The drive to city hall was short, barely five blocks away, but the tension inside the small car was stifling. Everyone was consumed with their own demons and Sandra found herself actually excited to see the man she used to dread visiting. Creighton pulled the car up in front of the large brick building and shut off the engine before opening the door for Sandra and her grandparents, who unfolded their elderly frames from the back seat. They walked up the steps to the front entrance and through the tiled lobby, Sandra leading the way to the Mayor’s office on the second floor.
Cathy greeted them at the door with a knowing smile, then reached out and took her sister’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Sandra smiled, accepted the hug her older sister offered then returned to her husband’s side. She wouldn’t miss this for the world!
“Ah, there they are, the town’s benefactors,” Mayor Nelson said as he walked down a narrow hall to the front reception area. Creighton practically snarled under his breath as the chubby, five foot five inch man stuck his sweaty hand out for him to shake. He narrowed his eyes to the mayor then glanced to the reporter and photographer standing behind him, ignoring his pre-offered hand completely.
“We need to talk,” he said in a low, menacing voice. The mayor lowered his hand and actually looked like he was about to be sick, but removed a handkerchief from his pants pocket and wiped it across his forehead. The room was warm, there was no doubt about it; summer in Kansas was dry and hot, but the fan was blowing in the corner to provide some air and it wasn’t hot enough to cause the perspiration that appeared on the chubby man’s face.